Anti-smoking advocates: New York lagging because of big tobacco lobbying spending, campaign donations

ALBANY >> Tobacco companies are spending millions on lobbying and campaign donations to hold back efforts to curtail smoking, even though 23,600 New Yorkers die tobacco-related deaths each year, a report says.

“The growing political clout of the tobacco lobby has paid off,” the report by NYPIRG says. “Funding for the state’s tobacco control program has been slashed by half and now ranks 21st in the nation in terms of adequacy. No new significant tobacco control measures have been enacted” since Gov. Andrew Cuomo took office in 2011.

The report came as an anti-tobacco lobbying day this week brought hundreds of activists to Albany, including teenagers involved with Reality Check, a youth-led anti-smoking program. New York Tobacco Control Partners, which organized Wednesday’s lobbying day, said about 12 percent of high school students smoke and about 17 percent of the same group reported using tobacco products.

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“Tobacco use still remains the leading cause of preventable death in NYS,” American Heart Association lobbyist Julianne Hart said. “While tobacco is a source of substantial revenue to New York state, unfortunately it is source of even greater costs, including billions in health care costs … For every New Yorker who dies because of smoking, there are another 20 who suffer from serious tobacco-related illnesses.”

The group said 2.4 million adults smoke in New York, 330,000 of them young adults. The state has cut tobacco control funding in half since 2007, currently funding it at $39.3 million annually. The state has the highest tobacco tax in the United States.

The NYPIRG report entitled “Rising from the Ashes: Big Tobacco’s Growing Clout in New York State” traces the businesses comeback from the early 1990s, when state anti-smoking efforts were at their peak during the administration of former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

Key findings include: “The tobacco industry spent as much in the first six months of 2013 as it had in 2011 and 2012 combined, spending over $7 million on lobbying during that period. By far and away, Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris) was the biggest spender. Altria spent over $4 million lobbying and over $300,000 in campaign donations.”

“In addition to its lobbying in New York City, the tobacco industry was involved in local health initiatives in the cities of Binghamton and Buffalo as well as the counties of Albany, Columbia, Madison and Suffolk.”

“The tobacco lobby employed 27 lobbying firms from 2011 through the first half of 2013. The firm that was paid the most by the tobacco industry was Ostroff, Hiffa & Associates. The main principal in that firm was a top staffer to former Gov. Mario Cuomo. The tobacco lobby gave almost $900,000 to ‘Save Our Stores,’ which acted as a front group to lead the tobacco industry’s opposition to (former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-smoking) proposals. Ironically one firm, Nixon Peabody, represented both a tobacco company and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2011 and 2012. Another, Brown & Weinraub, represented tobacco interests as well as Montefiore Medical Center during 2011 and 2012.”

“The New York State Democratic Committee broke its promise to not accept donations from the tobacco industry. In 2000, the State Democratic Committee pledged not to accept tobacco donations. It is clear that they have reneged on that promise by accepting tobacco donations.”

“New York State Senate Republicans remain the largest beneficiaries of the tobacco industry’s campaign donations. Senate Republicans are the biggest beneficiaries of the tobacco lobby’s largess.”

NYPIRG credited the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee for refusing to take tobacco money and said both parties must give up tobacco money.

Lobbying firms “must refuse to represent the industry in the same manner as they would refuse to represent organized crime. Health interests must make sure their lobbyists do not also represent tobacco sellers, and government officials should spend more on tobacco control, ban the sale of flavored tobacco products and enact restrictions on ads designed to appeal to children.”